Businessman Donald Trump continues to hold the lead over the large field of Republican presidential hopefuls in Florida, according to a poll released Wednesday.
Quinnipiac University’s new poll shows Trump taking 28 percent, almost double the support of Dr. Ben Carson, his nearest rival, who pulls in 16 percent. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., stands in third with 14 percent, with former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., behind him with 12 percent.
Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said the wind is behind the backs of outsiders and not behind candidates who held elected office in Florida.
"The generally more energized Republican Party members , who backed former Gov. Bush and Sen. Rubio when they ran for office in the Sunshine State, are deserting establishment candidates for the outsiders -- specifically Trump and Carson," Brown said.
Businesswoman Carly Fiorina gets 7 percent and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, garners 6 percent. But the rest of the field stands in low single digits. Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., pull 2 percent each. Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., and former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., take 1 percent apiece. Other candidates -- former Gov. Jim Gilmore, R-Va., U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., former Gov. George Pataki, R-N.Y., and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.-- take less than 1 percent each.
Asked if they would not vote for a candidate, 29 percent of Florida Republicans say Trump while 18 percent say the same of Bush and Paul. Most of the other candidates win the opposition of between 11-14 percent of Florida Republicans; only 7 percent say they would never vote for Carson and 9 percent say that about Rubio.
The poll of 461 Florida Republicans was taken from Sept. 25-Oct. 5 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.6 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
